Danville town leaders remain focused on smart spending, keeping a strong record on public safety, promoting a vibrant downtown and making improvements throughout the community, Mayor Robert Storer said in his State of the Town address Thursday afternoon.

"I promise you that this council will never let you down. I promise you that we'll listen, and I promise you that every decision we make will have you in our minds," Storer said during his speech at Crow Canyon Country Club. "We promise to protect your quality of life and our rich, historic town."

More than 150 business professionals, town officials and other community members attended the luncheon event, presented by the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Storer, in his first year as mayor, highlighted town accomplishments over the past year and looked toward local government priorities for 2014 and beyond.

"I'm proud to say that the town council and this staff are careful stewards of the public's money," he said. "We have a reputation in the region as a well-managed, fiscally responsible town."

The town's sound fiscal practices include having no unfunded liabilities, avoiding borrowing funds for construction projects, maintaining a 10-year financial forecast that is updated annually and preparing for "rainy days," according to the mayor.

"We have a very unique way of doing business in Danville. (We) actually take money in and we put money in a savings account -- craziest thing you've ever heard," Storer said, chuckling.

"We run the town like we run our households: don't spend money we don't have," he added. "Just like you at home, if not as much money is coming in, we adjust. We tighten our belts. We actually save money and we don't spend money we don't need."

Careful budgeting is the key to the town's financial solvency, according to Storer.

"We don't build our budgets on good times, when the numbers are huge. We build them on conservative times," the mayor said. "It's easier to weather a storm when your numbers are realistic and conservative."

Approximately 88% of the town's expenses are focused on the "highest priorities," in the areas of parks, planning, public works and police, Storer said.

Among the town's 2013 achievements, the mayor pointed to the Danville Police Department reporting a 7% reduction in property crimes and 5% fewer traffic collisions.

"Like every city in California, we want safety and the safety of our residents to be the top priority," Storer said. "If you come into Danville with the intentions of doing harm, we will arrest you, period. That's how simple that message is."

Additionally, the town spent about $3 million last year, as it has regularly in recent years, on slurry seals and pavement overlays on Danville streets, according to the mayor.

"This allows us to have our pavement remain in good order, but 'good' in the state of California is wonderful," he said.

Storer also described how town officials have worked to conserve water in light of ongoing drought conditions locally and statewide. The town has cut back on watering its grass areas and lawns, turned off its water features and relies on a computerized central irrigation system to control water use, he said.

Storer highlighted other public projects planned in Danville this year, including Osage Station Park renovations, four new bocce ball courts coming to Sycamore Valley Park, soundwalls being installed near Crow Canyon Country Club and widening of San Ramon Valley Boulevard.

Danville also remains committed to smart regional planning, according to Storer, who talked about his trip to Washington, D.C. earlier this month with Pleasanton Mayor Jerry Thorne, Livermore Mayor John Marchand and Dublin Vice Mayor Don Biddle.

"We spent the better part of the week trying to secure (federal) funds for transportation and infrastructure projects and policy issues that were of mutual interest in the Tri-Valley on behalf of our residents," he said. "They were good, productive meetings."

Other talking points during Storer's presentation included praise for town staff members, Danville's support for preserving open space and the importance of the downtown community.

"We understand that there's a need to strengthen small businesses," Storer said. "We want people to know, we want to send that message that we want you to come downtown, spend money and visit our small businesses."

The 35-minute speech marked Storer's first State of the Town address. He was appointed mayor in December as part of the town council's annual reorganization. This is his fifth year on the council.

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I just want all the good folks of Danville to read Mayor Storer's Second Paragraph over and over again. In fact print the Mayor's State of the Town Address and keep it in a file folder marked Mayor Storer's Promises To The Folks Of Danville in March 2014...Pull it out six to eight months from NOW and read it again.

Remember that's what Politicians do...Promise you everything...tell you what you want to hear and GIVE YOU NOTHING OTHER THAN WHAT THEY WANT ONLY. THEY ARE ALL ALIKE...FROM LITTLE TOWNS LIKE DANVILLE ALL THE WAY BACK TO WASHINGTON D.C.

I met Mayor Storer when he was manning a table at the farmers market a few years ago and also with then Mayor Doyle at the Sycamore Park to see if there was space to add more Bocce courts............Well both of these gentlemen have kept their word. I could not be more pleased to see that we be having four more courts to take care of the more than 500 people who now play this game every week. Thanks again.......George Momaney

It is not the town council that makes this town nice, it is the citizens of this town. They are for the most part, law abiding and working hard to keep their jobs and their children educated. Also, due to the real estate prices, the town receives funds from property taxes and assessments on those properties to fund the schools and teacher's salaries. Give credit where credit is due. It's not just the politicians doing their job, but everyone else too. The current mayor and past and current planners have had a pro-development bent and have approved ill conceived projects that will not add to the so-called wonderful old town feeling of Danville. Just take a look at the center off Camino Ramon and the project going in downtown and the almost finished eye sore off SRValley Blvd. - our planners capitulated to ABAG and other left leaning powers that control our towns and cities now. In order to get "goodies" from the state and federal government all towns have to have a certain percentage of affordable high density housing. If it were up to Senator DeSaulnier and his cronies in Sacto they would raise the 10% requirement to 25%! Just think how nice our town will be then.

Well whom ever you are...It appears you can not stand to hear the truth. That's okay, that town officials love fools like you. They love to guide you down that path to now where.

Your message lacks any intelligent matter..."Go Away Julia Pardini, You are such a imbecile. Get lost".

Well in six to eight months read the mayor's promises to the good people of Danville.

And by the way George, I am so pleased you are happy with your Bocce Ball Courts...I am sure that was on the top of your list of things needed for the town of Danville...Remember George, small thinkers get small things.

You people make me laugh...

Louise, you are right on. Your message stated the truth.

Thank for listening, Julia Pardini from Alamo and so happy for that fact.

PS...Go Mayor Storer, as they say you can't fool everyone all the time unless you are the Mayor of the Town of Danville, those folks will believe anything..

This is not necessarily related, but since you are talking about promises, here is one that, this wanna be Congressman, made no bones about it.

GOP endorses liberal candidate, who is in favor of Amnesty and Obamacare.
In an open letter Tue Quang Phan states that he decided to run because, "I believe that the free Vietnamese-Americans and the people of Vietnam should have a voice on the international forum; and at this time, the forum is the U.S. Congress." Web Link

But you don't have to settle for less then the best.
Virginia Fuller is running as a write in Independent. She is a solid conservative. No two ways about that.
www.fullerforcongress.org

Louise, you seem well informed on the fact that the city planners have sold us out and accepted funds to bring low income housing to Danville.
Also don't forget, that it was DeSaulnier who authored and pushed through the, "Bathroom Bill" for our public schools.

Storer's first speech as our Town's first "UNELECTED MAYOR" sounds like typical political crap ! Filled with such sweet platitudes and heartfelt sentiment it just made me want to puke with joy. Yes sir great leader, you will listen to us.....just like you did with the Summerhill Development, theK & B disaster, and our destroyed Danville Hotel. Every decision you and the other "Bobble Heads" have and will make will keep the Developer's interests in mind, not your fellow citizens. You and and the four other egocentric self-centered talking heads are surely protecting our quality of life..........yeah, sure. RUkidding !!!

Posted by Wake-up Call
a resident of Danville
on Mar 31, 2014 at 1:33 pm

For God's sake, people, understand who Robert Storer, never actually even elected to Council, is. He is a developer/contractor. He builds and owns high-density housing. He approves illegal projects like the KB Homes Gulag on SRV Blvd. and the SummerHill Magee Ranch project (which, thankfully, has been challenged in court by local residents).Don't listen to his self-serving speeches.

Yes, let's talk about bocce ball courts and forget the important stuff. Storer is laughing all the way to his bank with money from his high-density project in Danville that got approved while he was on the Planning Commission. Try talking to him at the Farmers' Market about high-density housing and ABAG (he is Danville's representative to that appointed commission). He is a real hothead if pressed.

The high density houses (not condos) across from the Children's Academy are ugly. They have a large footprint (building lingo) so they could get as much sqauare footage on the lot sizes so the builder could charge more. The yards are non-existent and they overlook the traffic. The occupants will get to smell the aroma of exhaust fumes with their morning coffee. Way to go Danville! They added some landscaping on the hill facing Camino Tassajara but it won't do a thing to mask this horrible looking project.
Danville's new motto: The town that once had taste but lost it.

There is fraud in are group...the last posted message by the imposter claiming to be me (Julia) is not me. But I am pleased to see he or she wants to make a fool of themselves.

Will the real Julia Pardini stand up...It's me folks.

Oh I almost forgot...read the April 1st Danville Express regard the town council maybe approving MORE DEVELOPMENT...I told you so...The mayor is full of lies and broken promises and this is just one day after he made his promises speech... What a total fool.

Posted by local resident
a resident of Danville
on Apr 2, 2014 at 11:09 pm

What lies. This Council NEVER listens to the people. Only developers. As for preserving Open Space, the Town has broken its promise made when Measure S was put on the ballot and passed in 2000 to give the public the deciding vote on whether Agricultural Open Space lands got changed to residential developments. Just look: Elworthy Ranch is now the Gulag KB Homes "Quail Ridge" (ha, ha). Last summer, the Council approved the SummerHill Homes development on Magee Ranch. Let's hope SOS-Danville wins its lawsuit on that one. Notice, Storer didn't mention any of that. Nor did he mention the fact that Danville's downtown is now a "Priority Development Area" for high-density housing. That was NOT the will of the people. Just developers like Storer.
P

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